More Than an Assignment: An International Research Conference Experience

Working at The Graduate College for more than four years and seeing the past few International Research Conferences come and go did not compare to the experience I was able to have by attending and participating in the 7th Annual International Research Conference this year as a first-semester graduate student. From the start of the conference, I was able to hear the opening distinguished research panel discuss their research, the process and overall skills necessary to conduct quality research. This granted me access into a world that I was not accustomed to and, quite frankly, was intimidated by. They answered very practical questions and gave answers like: “set calendar reminders,” “allot a certain amount of time for your research per day,” or “define your long and short-term goals.” This could have been seen as common sense, but to hear them say we must use these techniques showed how I could be doing it even in my own graduate classes.

What really made the conference a great learning experience was being able to actually present our research topic in a session. The presentation even allowed me to see the amount of teamwork it takes to go into presenting at a conference. Though only myself and one other team member presented, each person of the team contributed many of their skills to make our presentation the best it could be. Our session’s chair, Dr. Coy Callison from Texas Tech University, said “good presentation” several times while also offering suggestions for our research.

Though it was a good opportunity to take another stab at public speaking, I ended up taking more away from hearing other students’ presentation because it gave me insight to how they approached their research and gave ideas for the course of action in my own research.

After our session ended, we enjoyed a delicious lunch and listened to the keynote speaker, Dr. Victor Saenz from the University of Texas at Austin, bring his own research experience and enthusiasm to the conference. He took the time to educate us on an important Hispanic-education issue based on his own research. This reaffirmed the fact that when you perform research you are truly interested in, it can reveal notable results and also begin to change the environment around you.

I had a great experience being able to work with my classmates, visit with faculty, meet current undergraduate and hopefully future graduate students, and present at my very first research conference. I walked away with a whole new outlook of not only what it takes to do research and present a topic, but what you can learn from others around you, no matter where they are at in the process.